Breathing is rendered difficult by the weight of the mud upon the chest, and the interment can only be borne for a few minutes; but after the process has been repeated a few times, it is conveniently endured for a longer period; and patients lie by the hour embedded in a voluntary tomb. The Russian journals have been filled with accounts of marvellous cures effected at the spot; but there needs no pilgrimage to the Crimea to experience the virtue of a hot saline bath, much less a wallowing in the mire. The popularity of the mud baths of Saak is only another example of that fondness for novelties, which, in all countries and ages, has led men to prefer the distant Jordan to the Abanas and Pharpars of their own neighbourhood.

A

OF FOUL

PASS OF

MANGOUP KALÉ. –

TUMULI.

-OPTICAL

THE STEPPES. -GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS.
THEIR DESIGN.- -MONOTONY OF THE PLAINS.

NATURE has distributed the Crimea into two regions, the features of which are nearly as distinct as those of day and night. There is a highland range on the south coast, and a vast plain to the north of it, which comprehends by far the greater portion of the country. The transition from the one to the other may perhaps be regarded as constituting a third district, marked with gentle hills and broad valleys. To the Russian who has had no experience of scenery but what may be observed on the journey from Moscow or St. Petersburgh to the south of the Crimea, the view of its bold heights and picturesque

defiles may well have an indescribable charm. The whole intervening distance, of more than a thousand miles, is a flat, monotonous expanse, with no difference of level beyond what is made by hammocky ground and low rolling ridges; while successive grass-lands, swamps, and sandy wastes are the chief diversities of the surface. The contrast between these plains, of which the eye is speedily weary, and the mountains heightens the effect of the latter, and has led to exaggerated representations of the beauty and grandeur of the region. It comprises, indeed, the lovely, the romantic, and the sublime, but has no claim to a unique character, being fully equalled, and often transcended, in these features by other European landscapes.

The highlands range along the coast from the neighbourhood of Sebastopol eastward towards the Peninsula of Kertch, an extent of about a hundred miles, by from twelve to twenty miles in breadth. The crest is sometimes less than three miles from the sea, and never more than twelve. Bold and precipitous cliffs form a considerable part of the coast line. The conical Aiu-dagh, or Bear Mountain, near Yalta, projects grandly into the Euxine; and has been so called from its fancied resemblance to a bear going down to the sea with cubs to drink,

alluding to some adjoining masses.

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The rocks that line the shore are perforated with caves and grottoes, which the waves have scooped, formerly haunted by pirates, now inhabited by sea-fowl, and occasionally occupied at the entrance by the wild figtree. good carriage road, of recent construction, runs along the coast-chain from Sebastopol to Alushta, at the average height of two thousand feet above the level of the sea. The country between this road and the shore, being protected from the rough cold winds of the north, and entirely open to the warm breezes of the south, enjoys a delightful climate, which allows the vine, the olive, and the pomegranate to flourish. It has been styled in consequence the Italy of Russia. From Alushta another road crosses the chain to Simferopol, the highest point of which is 2800 feet above the sea. It commands a magnificent view of the coast below, and of the blue expanse of the Euxine beyond. An obelisk near this spot indicates the place where the Emperor Alexander stood to enjoy the prospect, at the period of his last visit to the Crimea in 1824. Nigh at hand, close to a spring, is a monument to the memory of Kutusoff. These roads, which render a difficult country of easy access, were constructed under the auspices of Prince Woronzow, while governor-general of the province,

who employed a young officer of engineers upon the work.

The mountains rise with a steep inclination on the seaward side, sometimes presenting a mural face of 1800 feet above the base, and decline by a very gradual descent to the level of the northern plain. The prevailing rock is calcareous, analogous to the Jura limestone, though more friable; but varieties of granite, greenstone, and other igneous rocks have been largely erupted. Prince Woronzow's palace at Aloupka is chiefly of greenstone from the neighbourhood. Granite quarried from the Bear Mountain has been largely used for the docks, quays, and forts of Sebastopol. Lime and sandstone compose the plateau upon which the allied armies pitched their camps before it, chiefly the former. The whole is covered, except where the rock crops out, with a light rich soil, varying from twelve to eighteen inches in depth, but which the rains convert into a heavy and tenacious mud, rendering transit as difficult as the passage of a newly-ploughed field after a soaking shower. The most peculiar feature of the highlands is their summits; they are not rounded or needle-shaped, but consist of extensive flats, forming high table-lands, corresponding to the paramos of the Andes, except in size. The people